Tag Archives: fundraising

As we wrap up our time here and look at where we are at financially it is evident that we need to do one final fundraising push. A few unexpected expenses that have already occurred and a few that will occur this week have us in need of one more ask to complete our goal.

The good news is that we are almost home, and almost done with the paperwork, fundraising, planning, etc that has consumed so much time and energy these last two years. We get to focus that energy on our family and loving 2 more kids. That sounds so much better!

Thank you to all of you who have helped us so far. We are more than grateful. We wish we didn’t have to make this post, and we hope that you do not feel pressured to help.

A couple weeks ago I heard a stat that still has me thinking. The average cost for a healthy pregnancy and birth in America is between $30,000 and $50,000. I had no idea, and you probably didn’t either. Why? Because I have been fortunate to have health insurance that covered a majority of this cost for both of my kids’ births. Lucky me!

This has stuck with me because we are in the process of trying to raise some funds to help with the $45,000 cost of adding two more kids to our family (this time, via adoption). It’s not easy to raise money, and it’s not fun either. But this statistic has encouraged me.

I have heard and sensed some criticism surrounding the fact that we are in the process of adopting and do not yet have the necessary $45k saved up to pay for the process. Some feel that if we are pursuing adoption we should be able to pay for it on our own, and I get that. I too have struggled with this. But the fact is, none of us can afford to have multiple babies on our own. It’s crazy expensive whether we birth them or adopt them (and the actual cost is not all that different). When we have kids biologically we get to rely on insurance to bear the brunt of our costs (good news!) but when we go the adoption route, we do not have insurance to fall back on.

That’s where fundraising comes in, and that is why I am encouraged. This non-profit that we are working with gets it. They know that adopting kids is a great option for certain families, and they know that most of those families cannot afford to go through the process on their own. They see themselves as being an “insurance” of sorts that can help defray the cost and make adoption a viable option for families like us.

So there you have it. I’m not irresponsible after all, and this adoption is actually not more expensive than the previous births of my biological children. And while I don’t like asking for money, I don’t have to be embarrassed. We are fortunate to have a web of very excited and generous people surrounding us during this time, and they are helping us make this dream a debt-free reality. More good news.

(If you want to check out this non-profit we are working with, you can find them at www.adopttogether.org . They are good people.)

I suppose I shouldn’t be embarrassed- everyone needs help of some sort when they bring a new child (or two!) into the home. When our second child was born I had help getting groceries, with meals, I even had to have someone come over a few times to watch the kids while I took a shower! It was temporary for sure, but there is nothing like adding a little child to the family to reveal your total need for help. And so, I’ve been mentally preparing to enter into a season where I am going to have to rely on others and their gracious offers to help once again!

It seems I’m getting help with that “preparation” already as the time has come to ask for help! There are two primary ways that you can help us with where we are currently at in our adoption journey

-Financially. While we can handle the month-to-month expenses of two additional kids, the cost of adoption is steep and we are hoping to do it debt-free. We have partnered with a non-profit that helps families raise money for adoption so that gifts are tax-deductible. You can read our profile and support us financially here: https://www.adopttogether.org/theludwigs/

-Prayer. While we ask you all to generally be in prayer for us, we are looking to build a team of people who will very seriously and intentionally commit to pray for us through this time. If you would like to be part of this team, you can leave your email address in the comment line or email me with it and I will add you to a list of people who will receive regular updates about how they can be praying.

There will be more opportunities to help in other ways as we continue to move forward in this process, but I wanted to share those two with you now, as they are both pressing needs. To stay up to date on our adoption journey, please hit the “follow” button on this page. That way, you won’t miss a thing! This will be the primary way we keep people posted on the process going forward (I won’t always link to Facebook or send an email as I don’t want to be too pesky).

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for your desire to be part of this adventure we are on. The love, support, and joy that surrounds our family has compelled us to share what we have been given. Thank you. We love you all.